


I'm Here

by Multifandom_damnation



Category: Batman (Comics), Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics)
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, Brotherly Love, Captivity, Crime Fighting, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Family Bonding, Family Issues, Gen, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Injury Recovery, Mind Control Aftermath & Recovery, Physical Abuse, Protective Siblings, Psychological Trauma, Secrets, Self Confidence Issues, i almost made myself cry, i love how supportive the outlaws are though, im sorry, the joker is an asshole and i hate him, this is now going to be a multi chapter fic, this is very angsty
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-18
Updated: 2018-09-10
Packaged: 2018-11-02 03:58:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 16,161
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10936524
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Multifandom_damnation/pseuds/Multifandom_damnation
Summary: Tim gets taken by the Joker and Jason only just found out about it.Let's just say he wasn't very happy when he got that phone call.





	1. Jason finds out

“Y’know Jason,” Roy’s voice said from the other end of the phone. “There are these things that people leave when they go out -maybe you know them- called notes. People put them in places when they want to leave a message that says things like ‘I’m going out, don’t worry’ or ‘I’ve gone to _this place and I’ll be back at this time_ ’. That’s what people do when they leave, so that way their friends don’t panic and think you’ve been kidnapped and start tracking your cell and your helmet chip, _WHICH_ you left _here_ by the way.”

“Sorry,” Jason said monotone as he stared at the huge double doors. “I didn’t know I was going to go out. I was out for a walk and just decided I’m just going to go out”

“That’s fine and all” Roy’s voice was full of static from the bad reception “But where are you anyway? Kori said you were talking about seeing someone?” A clang followed by a string of curses indicated that Roy was in his workshop. He probably dropped a wrench on his foot. Again.

“Where do you think he is Roy?” The very quiet and far away voice of Kori could be heard. “Who do you think he would have gone and seen?”

“I don’t know, if I knew would I be asking? Just tell me, then I wouldn’t have to think.”

“You’re an idiot.”

“Hey, I don’t do the thinking. My thinking capacity revolves around tools, weapons, arrows and Lian. ‘Would have thought you had known that, Princess.”

“The Joker?” Kori’s exasperated and annoyed voice rang out, coming closer to the phone. “Tim? Don’t you think he would have gone to the manor to see Tim?”

There was silence on the other end of the phone, even the near-constant sounds Roy made when he fiddled with an arrowhead or a bolt had momentarily stopped. “Oh. Oh _man_ , I thought you said we were all going to go over together? You sure you’re ok with this Jaybird?”

 _I don’t know_ was what Jason wanted to say as he gazed up at the drab greys and browns of Wayne Manor, with its swooping portico roofs, its wide windows dark and lifeless and its front porch with its many steps and its huge double doors.

A week ago, Tim Drake, Red Robin Tim, _replacement_ Tim, had been taken by the Joker, “kidnapped”, as though he wasn’t lured into a trap using a crying child and had instead been plucked off of the street and shoved in the back of a van. He had been missing for 5 days and Jason had only heard about it yesterday.

Yes-ter-day.

Jason clenched his fists at his sides.

This was the Jokers way of getting back at Batman because the broken robin had come back, why not take the next best thing? Who knows what happened to Tim while he was taken? Who knows what else would have happened if he was there for any longer? What if the reason Alfred had only called Jason yesterday, not Bruce or Dick, was because Tim blamed him and didn’t want to see him? What if-

“Jason?” Roy’s incessant voice knocked him out of his thoughts.  “Jay, you ok man? You don’t have to do this if you’re not ready. We can all go together, or we can write things down, or- “

“What am I going to say?” Jason asked quietly. “Alf said that he hasn’t come out of his room for days, hasn’t eaten anything, is barely sleeping, isn’t talking. What am I supposed to say to help him? I don’t know what the Joker did to him. I died, what happened to me was different, I can’t level with him about having the same experiences, can I? What do I say?”

Roy was silent on the other end of the phone, which was not a Roy that Jason was used to. “Yes, you can.”

“Can what?”

“Level with him. Sure you died and he didn’t. You were hurt physically; Tim was probably hurt mentally. Joker gas and all. You’re the brawn, he’s the brains. But when you crawled out of your grave-sorry- the thing you were looking for was comfort, yeah? Someone to be there for you, to care about you and make you feel like people wanted to help, right?

“Yeah and?”

“Tim probably wants the same thing. He is living with _Bruce Wayne,_ remember? Batman? How much affection do you think that boy is going to get? And Damian? You think he is going to be any help? But you know how he feels, how you felt, so give him now what you wish you had gotten then.”

Jason was silent. “Wow.” He said after a moment. “That was actually really intellectual of you Harper.”

“Thanks, I try.”

And with a click, the call had ended, and Roy was gone. Jason was now forced to make a decision out of a crossroad: go and knock on the doors, wait outside in the coldness of Gotham, or turn around and walk away. After a while of arguing with himself, he decided on the answer of what Tim would do for him if the positions were switched.

He walked up those steps and knocked on the doors.

It was no surprise when Alfred answered, although it was a surprise when he realised that Alfred was not carrying his trademark silver tray, but instead was carting around a small walky-talky type of alarm. Like a high-tech baby monitor (which Jason had seen _plenty_ of, having Lian live with them a lot recently) that was hooked up directly into Tim’s room. It looked like Tim had caught on to the camera, and had placed a strip of coloured sticky tape to the lens. But he could still be seen through a blue film, hunched over his laptop with his hair in his face.

“Ah, Master Jason,” Alfred greeted him looking somewhat relieved. “I assume you are here to see Master Tim. You know where his room is, please wipe your shoes on the mat before you come in.” Jason smiled at him as he went around the corner into the kitchen.

As Jason had bent down to start unbuckling the clasps on his shoes because he would rather take them off altogether than wipe them, Alfred poked his head back around the corner.

“Jason.” He started, then shook his head and looked down before he continued. “I’m glad you came over after all. He is listening to neither I nor Master Bruce, Master Richard is out of town and has not yet been informed, and you know how young Master Damian gets… I was hoping you might try.”

“I’ll see what I can do Alf.”

“That is all I have ever asked for Master Jason.”

 _Hasn't Dickie been told?_ Jason thought as he made his way up the stairway, sliding his hand along the bannister. _Why hasn’t B told him yet? I thought he would have been the first to know. I thought he would have been the one to find him. What’s he going to say when he finds out Bruce didn’t tell him again? I am so going to call him when I get back._

When he got to Tim’s door, he found Bruce leaning on the bannister, crossed armed and cross-legged, face deep in thought.

Jason reached his hand in front of his face and clicked his fingers together, making Bruce look up and at Jason as if seeing him for the first time. “Jason.” He stated confused. “What are you doing here?”

“Alfred called me.” He told him as he stretched his arms and leant against the wall opposite Bruce, next to Tim’s door. “By the way, thanks for not letting me know until the last minute, and what do you think Dick is going to say when he finds out?

“Richard doesn’t need to be told.”

Ah. “Had another falling out did we?”

“It’s not important,” Bruce grumbled and looked down at the floor. ‘What’s important is- “

“Tim, yeah I know. I get it. Let me have a chat with him.”

Bruce looked back at him then, doubt written on his face. “What makes you think that you can get through to him?”

Jason would have been offended at the accusatory “you” thrown into that sentence but right then he got a text from Roy.

Remember: Give him what he needs, not what he wants. No matter how much he tells you he does, he doesn’t.

And as confusing as that sounded, Jason got it perfectly.

“What have you tried so far?” Jason asked Bruce looking back up from his phone.

“We’ve asked him what he wants from us. He says he wants us to leave him alone, he won’t even take medication or food. We can’t give him anything.”

Jason thought for a minute, thinking that somehow Roy Harper, his stupid best friend, had somehow managed to deduce something before the world’s greatest detective. Well played Harper.

“Do you know what happened to him?” He asked pushing himself off of the wall

Bruce pulled out his phone and opened up an app Barbra- sorry Oracle- had installed that connected directly to the bat-computer down in the bat-cave. He opened up Tim’s file and handed it to Jason.

**Vast amounts of fear toxin, slight electrocution, went without food for several days, joker gas strain administered- not very effective (didn’t have laughing properties), burn marks, scars and lacerations.**

“Hmm.” Jason hummed as he read it, thinking _what did I want when I crawled out?_

“Is Damian here?” he asked finally, looking up at Bruce who had not taken his eyes off of Tim’s door. “I want to have a quick word with him.”

“Yes, he’s in his room.” As Jason turned to walk towards his room, he felt Bruce’s hand on his arm. “He is… trying, you know. Damian. At first, he didn’t know what to do, was trying to insult him so he could come out of his room and start yelling at him. Then he started writing letters and slipping them under his door. The last thing he did before he gave up was put one of his swords in the laundry shoot and sent it to his room, with a note that said: “For protection, if you need it.”

Nodding, Jason turned away again and walked towards Damian’s room. Knocking, he was greeted with a single “enter”. 

_Still as stuck up as always._

When he went in, Damian was at his desk reading, the light casting shadows across his tired face. He looked up as the door opened, and seemed surprised to find Jason. “Todd,” He said marking his page and standing. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m here to see Tim.”

“It may not be of any use.” He said looking down. “None of us have managed to get through to him, not even Brown or Cain.”

“Damian, I know. But I need you to do me a favour ok?”

He looked up again then, clearly intrigued, so Jason continued. “Would you be able to make- or ask Alfred to make - that drink Tim used to have? A cross between a coffee and a hot chocolate? I would make it myself but I don’t know how to make it.”

Damian thought for a moment before nodding. “I will make it. I won’t be too long, don’t go anywhere.”

As he quickly hurried out of the room and down the staircase, Jason went to the cupboard next to the stairs and grabbed the biggest and warmest blanket he could find. It was a navy blue, soft and fluffy. Something Tim would like. As he heard the kettle start to boil and jars being opened, Jason went to his old room, which was just as he had left it, and went looking for the books. He had hidden them under his bed, the old books he didn’t want to put in the family library because they meant to much to him, the ones he had brought with him when he was living on the streets before he was taken in by Bruce. He selected one of his favourites “To Kill a Mockingbird” and went back to Damian’s room, closing the door behind him.

He entered Damian’s room just as he came stomping up the staircase. “It’s done.” He said proudly showing Jason the cup. It was full of whipped cream and chocolate flakes and marshmallows, with no doubt heaps of sugar and probably too much coffee. “Thank you, Damian,” Jason told him as he took the mug out of his hands. “I’ll be sure to let Tim know you made it for him.”

As Jason made his way to Tim’s room, Bruce gave him a look. “Do you actually think that he will open the door for you?”

“No, but unlike you, I’m not afraid to break the door down if he doesn’t.”

He was, he just didn’t want Bruce to know he cared. This was his replacement after all.

Jason took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

He heard a sigh from the other side of the door. “Bruce!” Tim shouted, obviously annoyed, “How many times have I told you to stop knocking on my door? What part of “I want to be alone” does the great detective not understand?”

“It’s not Bruce, and I’m slightly offended that you thought I was. I’m not that old and grumpy am I?” Jason said through the door, hoping the snarky humour would give it away that it was him.

There was silence on the other end of the door. “Jason?”

“In the flesh. Can I come in? I think I left something in there the last time I was here” Jason closed his eyes and hoped to every lord listening that that would work and that Tim would let him in.

The gods must have been listening, as Tim sounded confused but said “uh, s-sure. Come in.” And with a click, his door was unlocked, probably with that electronic remote thing, and Jason was permitted access.

Bruce pushed himself off from the bannister he was leaning on and made his way towards the door, but Jason turned to him and gave him a look. “Don’t,” He said to him, “I told you I was going to talk to him. Not you, you had your chance. You gave him what he wanted. To be left alone.”

“Well, what are you going to give him?”

Jason thought of Roy's advice as he turned back to the door and turned the handle, struggling with his full hands. “What he needs.”

He pushed through the door and quickly shut it once he was through, locking it with his elbow. He really should have brought one of Alfred’s trays.

Tim didn’t look at him as he walked up. He had his head bent, his long hair dangling in front of his face like vines and his eyes staring at his computer screen. He was wearing his civvies, but they looked old and worn. The room was slightly muskier, and there were scrunched up tissues under the bed. He was sitting on top of the covers and his eyes were red-rimmed.

Jason walked towards the bed and placed the blanket and the book on the floor. He made room on Tim’s bedside table and placed the cup on it. He knelt down on his knees in front of Tim’s bed and picked up his computer, moving it to the other side of the bed. He turned Tim’s hips around so he was facing him.

Tim still wouldn’t look a Jason, and that made his heart break.

“Hey, Timbo,” Jason said quietly. “Damian made you that drink you like. You know, the one with the coffee and the chocolate and the whipped cream? I’ve got that here. And a book, I thought maybe we could read something.”

Tim still didn’t answer so Jason placed his hands on his face and pushed outwards, so he moved his hair out of his face. Tim looked tired, and he kept his eyes in his lap.

“Timmy” Jason whispered and dragged him off of the bed and onto the floor with him, placing the blanket around his shoulders.

Jason gently placed a finger under Tim’s chin and lifted it so he could see his face and cup it. His eyes were bloodshot and there were tears brimming, close to tumbling out and falling down his face like raindrops in a storm. One did, and Jason raised a finger and whipped it away.

“Timbo,” Jason whispered one more time, “What do you need?”

And then suddenly, like a dam breaking the tears came flooding out and Tim collapsed into Jason’s arms. Sob after heart-wrenching sob wracked through Tim’s small frame as he clutched tightly to Jason, burying his face into his chest and crying. He was shaking, and he was mumbling into Jason, saying he was _sorry, so sorry_ , and Jason just held him through it all.

This is what he needs. Jason thought as he listened to Tim weep, this is what I needed, but he needs it more.

Jason didn’t know how long they were sitting there for, but around dinner time Tim’s sobs started to slow until they turned to hiccups and sniffles. Jason’s top was drenched, but he didn’t mind. Tim looked at Jason with wide eyes then and whispered a small “thank you”

“Any time Timbo,” Jason said to him as he grabbed a tissue from the near empty box and dried Tim’s eyes. “It’s what you would have done for me. Now, do you want to tell me what the Joker did to you so I can find him and break him for it, or are you going to make me break every bone in his body until he tells me?”

Tim smiled a little at that, knowing someone would always be there to help him. “I’ll tell you.” He said quietly in-between hiccups. “Just, don’t do a Bruce ok?”

“I promise I will not do a Bruce.”

“Thanks,” Tim said, rubbing his eyes. And he meant it. “I needed this.”

“I know,” Jason said as he wrapped the blanket tighter around his younger brother.

“Promise you won’t leave?”

That was something Jason was not prepared for, especially not from Tim.

“Yeah, Timmy. I can promise you that,” Jason said looking into Tim’s eyes, someone who _needed him_ for once.

“I ain’t going anywhere.”


	2. The first phone call

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this one is so short, and hopefully, it won't be too confusing, but thanks to the_casual_cheesecake, I'm making this multi-chapter fic. Hope its ok! If anyone has anything they would like to see, leave it in the comments and ill see what I can do.

In retrospect, Jason supposed he should have expected the phone calls.

It had been a couple of days, a week maybe since Jason had gone and seen Tim. He had ended up staying for dinner and had somehow managed to get Tim to join them. The rest of the family left Tim alone, letting Tim whisper things to Jason for him to say out loud, not asking him if he wanted to talk about anything or if he was alright, didn’t pester him to keep eating when he quietly announced that he was full. Even Damian was civil, not making snide comments and nit-picking about the way Tim looked, like he normally would, to break the ice. He even said please when he asked Tim to pass the gravy.

Jason felt bad leaving that night. He saw the broken and vulnerable look in his eyes as he ruffled his hair and said goodbye. Saw the way he bit his lip and looked down. Saw the wetness in his eyes and the rapid blinking. How he had to clear his throat before he spoke, as though he wanted to remove the quivering that would defiantly be there. When Jason hugged him, Tim held on a little too tight for “being fine”, held on a little too long. Jason watched through the window as Tim hunched his shoulders and ducked his head as he walked towards the stairs and started up them, stopping to say a quiet “good night” to the rest of the house as he walked up. Bruce stood up about to protest, but a quick and sharp scold of “ _Master_ Bruce” from Alfred had him sitting back down and closing his mouth.  The only person who spoke to Tim as he made his way up the wooden staircase, hand trailing on the rail was Damian, who shouted “Goodnight Tim, sleep well” after him. Jason thought the weirdest thing about the exchange was that Damian called him “Tim” instead of the usual “Drake”.

Alfred had been calling Jason, giving him updates. Telling him what Tim was eating, what he did that day or if he spoke to anyone. He usually didn’t. Jason didn’t think he would care as much as he did. He didn’t know why he would care about what Tim was eating, what he was saying. But he found as the days went on and he got more and more and more calls from Alfred, that he really did care. He cared about Tim and how he was doing. He wanted to know what he was eating or if he talked to anyone that day even though he usually didn’t. He felt like if he knew what was wrong with Tim, he might be able to be the one to help him.

So, Jason should have expected the phone call that came a few days later at 3 in the morning from Tim, waking him from a nightmare. Which he was grateful for but at the same time _Tim its 3 in the morning what are you doing awake and why the hell are you calling me?_

“Mm, Timmy, what are you doing up?” Jason mumbled tiredly, blinking and rubbing his eyes to try and clear his blurry vision. He said it quietly, as not to wake Roy and Kori asleep beside him.

“H-hey Jay,” Tim replied, his voice shaking. That made Jason sit up a little, removing the covers and swinging his legs over the edge of the bed. Roys' hand rested on his waist, toying with the band of his pyjama bottoms in his sleep. “How’s it going?”

“I’m good Tim,” Jason whispered, sure Tim didn’t want to hear the gravely-ness of his voice that Kori liked to tease him about because it made him sound like the Batman. That may have been the last thing Tim would want to hear. “Everything ok?”

“Yeah.” Tim lied. They sat in silence for a little bit, Tim thinking Jason would continue the conversation and Jason waiting for Tim to break and tell him what was wrong. Tim did break and after a few minutes of silence Tim sighed “Could be better though.” He told Jason.

“Hmm,” Jay said. “Wanna talk about it?”

“Yeah.”

Jason went to stand up to walk to the lounge room so he could at least talk privately and at a normal volume, but Kori must have woken up because he felt her hair on his back as she leant over and kissed his neck. “I’m sorry I woke you.” He whispered in her ear. “I was already awake.” She replied as she let go of leaving a mark on his neck. “Go and talk with Tim.” She leant back and placed her arm over Roys' chest, and Jason rose from the bed but the movement and the dip of the bed woke Roy, who rubbed the drool off his chin and blinked at Jason. He looked about to follow him out, thinking he had a nightmare but then he saw the phone pressed to Jason’s ear and the arm of the super-strong alien on his chest, keeping him there, and he stayed where he was. He nodded and quietly said “We’re having a talk about this in the morning” before he turned on his side and pressed his back against Kori and closed his eyes. Kori’s soon followed and her arms wrapped tighter against Roys' chest, giving him a kiss on the back of the head before she rested her face in the juncture between his shoulders and his neck.

Jason made sure that the door to their bedroom was closed completely before he started talking to Tim. “Sorry, I woke Kori and Roy,” He apologised “They’re asleep now though. What was it you called for, Timbo?”

When there was silence on the other end of the line, Jason though Tim had hung up on him while he was leaving the room. A quick glance at his phone screen showed that Tim was still on the line and some quiet listening revealed that he was breathing, so he was there. “Tim?” Jason asked, worried more now. His breathing was not deep and long, but shallow, janky and quick. Like someone holding back tears. “You there Timmy?”

There was silence for a little longer, long enough for Jason to think about hanging up and calling again, but then he heard Tim take another shuddering breath and now it sounded like he really _was_ crying. “I’m sorry,” Tim whispered, so quietly “I shouldn’t have called. I leave you be. Sorry.”

“Wait, hang on, Tim, what?” Jason was very confused at this point “You haven’t done anything wrong?”

“You’re with Roy and Kori- “

“So?”

“It's 3 in the morning?”

“So? You actually woke me up from a nightmare. I’ll be up for a while.”

“I called for a stupid reason- “

“Well, what is that reason?” Jason asked gently because he didn’t want to push Tim into speaking, but he obviously called for a reason and feeling guilty about calling was not going to help Jason get o the truth any faster. “It’s only a stupid reason if you don’t tell me what it is.”

There was more silence on the other end of the line and Jason accepted that there was probably going to be a lot of that tonight. “I had a nightmare,” Tim whispered on the other end of the line, a sob following it up. Jason sighed and sat on his side of the couch, grabbing Starfire’s pink fluffy blanket and pulling it over himself as he stretched his legs out to take up the rest of the burgundy couch. He put his arm behind his head and grabbed a pillow to put behind that. “You want to talk about it,” Jason asked once he had gotten comfortable “or do you want me to _think_ about what you could have dreamt of and go from there?”

“I want to talk about it,” Tim said almost instantly. “But promise you won’t laugh. Or do a Bruce.”

Jason had to laugh at that. The term “doing a Bruce” was the way all the bat-kids secretly referred to as “Don’t over-react.” “Don’t do anything stupid for my sake.” “Don’t make me feel bad about doing this thing.” “Don’t yell at me I did what needed to be done.” “Don’t try and come up with answers before you know the whole equation, just _listen_.”

Jason could practically _hear_ Tim’s frown on the other line. “Why are you laughing?”

“Oh Tim,” Jason said, mirth still making his cheeks turn upwards despite him trying to make them stop, which ended up looking like a grimace. “You’re telling the guy who still has nightmares about being beaten to death by a guy in a clown costume with a crowbar and crawling out of his own grave after being blown up not to laugh at you having nightmares about the same crazy freak in a clown costume doing psychological damage and abuse on you. Of course, I won’t laugh.”

“What about- “

“Jeez Tim, I promise I won’t do a Bruce. You are telling the one guy who wants to be as different from that guy as possible. I would honestly rather die a hundred more times than become a Bruce. That reminds me, if I ever do anything somewhat Bruce-ish, shoot me.”

That earned a small chuckle out of Tim, but it still sounded broken. “I can probably do that for you. I would probably be doing the world a favour. Gotham can only deal with 2 Bruce Wayne’. It can hardly deal with one.”

Jason grinned again on his end of the phone. _That sounds more like the Tim we know and love._ “You ready to talk now?” Jason asked, promising himself that that would be the last time he would ask, in case Tim didn’t answer.

But he did.

“It was dark, and there was blood…”

* * *

 

The sun had started coming up over the trees by the time Tim had calmed down and stopped crying enough to say thank you and hang up the phone. Jason dropped his phone on his chest, too hot now from use to hold. He was worried about Tim. His dreams had been troubling, to say the least, and they were starting to sound like the ones Jason had first had. He bit his lip as he tried to think of what to do. He looked down at his phone again and picked it up. He punched in his code and looked through his contacts. He remembered Alfred telling him that Dick hadn’t been told yet. Jason dimly wondered how his older brother would react to the news, and from hearing it from Jason 2 weeks later instead of from Bruce the day that it happened. Jason changed from biting his lip to biting the inside of his cheeks as he opened Dicks text messages and thought of what to say.

**_Hey, Dick._ **

Jason didn’t know if he would get the message anytime soon, but at least he had sent the message and Dick would get back to him. Jason dropped the phone again and closed his eyes. Until an annoying buzzing went off and he cracked one eye open, squinting at the screen. Looks like Dick had his phone on him after all.

 ** _Hey, little wing!_** The message said. **_How’s it going? Haven’t talked in ages!_**

Jason’s mind was suddenly screaming at him to say something, anything but not to tell him about Tim. Which, Jason thought, would be a bit redundant because the only reason Jason contacted Dick in the first place was to tell him about Tim. Then again…

Dick would much rather be told in person.

 ** _When are you free?_** Jason wrote. **_We need to talk._**

There weren’t any texts for a few minutes, as though Dick had to check his schedule. **_Monday? I’m free Monday if that’s good for you._**

Jason thought for a moment. **_Monday is great._**

**_Cool! I’ll see you then! Which safe house are you staying at this time?_ **

**_The one just outside Gotham, end of the woods but opposite the power lines._ **

**_Great! Talk soon._ **

Jason closed his eyes again, but his phone buzzed once more. He looked at it, annoyed but quickly cooled down when he saw it was a text from Kori.

**_I’m just waiting for Roy to wake up, then were coming out and having a talk._ **

Jason didn’t even bother replying. She knows he saw it. This time when he closed his eyes a final time, his last thought was of how high-maintenance his family had become.


	3. Jason gets something off his chest

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to fashionablesnider and the-casual-cheesecake for helping me edit xx

Jason was woken up from another nightmare by hands ripping the blanket off of him and someone yanking the pillow from behind his head. 

He didn’t get much sleep last night and he was tired, irritable. He wanted to ignore the sounds of shuffling and groaning and just turn on his side and go back to sleep. Jason suddenly became aware of the movement that was now in the room, and he stuck his hand between the couch cushions as he sat up and wrapped his fingers around the barrel of a pistol yanking it out, and it flew from his hand, his eyes searched for the intruder. His eyes were still covered in thick film of sleep. 

He didn’t know what time it was, but it felt like it was somewhere around noon. There was soft light streaming in from the closed blinds. Someone bumped into something, maybe the dining table, and a mumbled curse reached Jason’s ears. He heard shuffling and clanging from someone rifling through the cutlery draw _._ In his panic of _someone is in here and Roy and Kori are still in bed_ , he stood up straight, hitting his shin against the coffee table as he dived across the floor, scrambling for the gun and swung his arm around to face the kitchen. He misjudged where his aim was pointing because he fired a few shots into the wall as he swung. _Warning shots,_ he thought as he tried to blink the blurriness from his eyes.  A yelp from the kitchen had Jason repositioning his aim and he fired straight at the man standing in the kitchen.  

Straight at Roy who dived behind the counter, followed by the clattering of half of the spoons in the drawer falling to the ceramic floor. 

“Goddamn it Roy!” He shouted sleepily as he saw Roy’s messy bed head slowly pop up from behind the counter when he heard the shots stop firing. “Whaddya doing, waking me up like that? I could have shot you.” 

“Yeah, well,” Roy said in the middle of a yawn. He put his hands over his mouth as he stood up. “How was I to know you would go into self-defence mode?” 

Jason shook his head and moved back to the couch to put the gun back where he found it. He rubbed his shin where a red mark was forming, he hoped it wouldn’t bruise. He made his way over to the kitchen, reaching up to open the cupboard and pulling out 3 mugs. “Kori in the shower?” 

“Yup.” Roy said, filling up the kettle and turning it on. He took the cups from Jason and put the  right amount of sugar and coffee in each, a teabag in one for Kori. He walked out of the kitchen and turned on the TV while Jason got food out of the fridge and started on breakfast. Lunch. Whatever. “She should be out soon.” 

As if on cue , Kori walked out from the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her head and wearing one of Jason’s shirts. It came to rest just above her knees and Jason doubted that she was wearing anything else under it. She went to kiss Roy on the cheek and he walked into the bedroom to get dressed. She went over to the kitchen and grabbed the kettle and poured water into the cups. She then got the milk and poured some in Roy’s cup. “Good morning Jason,” she said with a smile as she walked over to the stove where Jason was cooking. She wrapped her arms around his waist, bring them up to cross on his chest and kissed his neck. “How did you sleep?” 

“My neck hurts. And my back feels like Bane is sitting on me.” He said turning to her and kissing the top of her head. “We need to get a bigger couch.” 

“Or a recliner." 

“Or that.” 

She pulled away from Jason and went to the other side of the kitchen, bending down and confirming Jason’s thought of her wearing nothing under his shirt. She opened another cupboard and pulled out some plates. She went to the cutlery draw and pulled out forks and knives, then made her way over to the dining table and placed everything in their spots. 

“Are those bullet holes in the wall?” She asked as she went over and rubbed her hand over them. 

“Yeah, Jay was a little trigger happy this morning.” Roy walked out of the bedroom wearing his green hoodie and trucker cap, zipping up the fly on his jeans. “Nearly blew my head off.” He went to the kitchen and grabbed the pan from Jason so he could get changed as well and started putting the food on the plates. When Jason was out of the room, Roy lowered his voice to a near whisper. “He say anything about Tim yet?” 

“Not yet,” Kori said as she handed Roy his coffee and grabbed her tea, leaving Jason’s on the bench for when he comes and gets it. “I’ll ask him while we eat. I do not think he wants to worry us. You know how he is.” 

“Taking the burden himself? Yeah I know. I’ve had to stitch him up more than once.” 

They sat down as Jason came in, yawning and rubbing the back of his neck. It really did hurt. He had slept with his neck crooked and he was really regretting not sleeping on the floor. He grabbed his coffee from the bench and grabbed the salt and pepper on his way to the table and sat down. 

“In my defence,” Jason started, looking at Roy as he took the salt from Jason and poured it on his breakfast. “You scared the crap out of me. You know how I get when you do that shit. It was your fault for waking me up like that.” 

“But Jaybird- “ 

“How did he wake you up?” Kori asked as she brought her tea to her lips.

“He pulled the pillow from behind my head and walked off then started making noise in the kitchen. I thought we were under attack.” 

“ _Roy Harper!_ ” 

“I’m sorry!” Roy shouted as he raised his hands up. “I thought he was awake!” 

“You could have heard the snoring!” She glared at him. 

“Hey!” Jason shouted. “I don’t snore!” 

“We share a bed with you! I think we would know if you snore!” 

“You would not!” 

Suddenly, Roy banged his knife against his mug, making a dull dinging sound. Kori and Jason looked over at him. “Right,” He said looking from Jason, to Kori and back again. “Let’s agree that I shouldn’t have woken Jason up like that, that Jason doesn’t snore and that it was also probably my fault that there are holes in the wall.” 

Kori and Jason looked at each other, then back at Roy who was now squirming in his seat. “Guys,” he said nervously. “You know how I get when gorgeous people look at me like that.” Jason rolled his eyes and stood up, walking to the couch and picked up the pillow that Roy removed from behind his head. He walked back to Roy and hit him in the head with it. 

“What was that for?” He whined, but a look at the glares the other two were giving him, made him shut up. “Oh, right.” 

Jason rolled his eyes and started digging into his breakfast. Roy and Kori exchanged glances.

“Jason,” Kori started quietly, placing a hand on his arm, stopping him from shoving more forkfuls of bacon into his mouth. He turned to her with a piece of scrambled egg hanging from his lip. He gave her a smile and pulled off the egg. “Yeah Princess?” 

Kori didn’t actually know how to start the conversation, and another look at Roy said as much. “Do you want to talk about Tim?” 

The smile left Jason’s face and he pushed his plate away from him, suddenly not hungry. “What about Tim?” 

“The things that have been happening?” Roy butted in, and Kori was glad he wasn’t making her do this alone. “The nightmares, the phone calls?”

“What about them?” 

Kori sighed. I seemed like Jason was going to be stubborn. “The things that happened to Timothy, did they not remind you at all of the things the Joker did to you?”

He looked down, fingers fiddling with the hem of his shirt. It was fraying at the edges and the colour was fading. “A little.” 

“A little?” Roy asked incredulously, throwing his arms up in the air. “Jaybird, what he did to Timmy was almost exactly what he did to you! That’s not a coincidence.” 

He hadn’t wanted to admit it, but Jason thought the same thing. He knew the Joker was doing this to get to Jason, wanted him to remember what he tried so hard to forget, for the Batman to lose another Robin on his watch. Jason didn’t want to give him the satisfaction, but it was hard being the big brother, constantly there for everyone. _This must be how Dick feels._ Jason thought, then remembered the conversation he was going to have with him on Monday and instantly regretted thinking of him at all. “I know it’s not.” He said, looking at the two people he loved most in this world. They were both looking at him with such concern written on their faces, concern for him, and Jason didn’t feel like he deserved it. “The Joker hurt Tim, because he wanted to hurt me. And when I’ve made sure Timmy is ok, I’ll go after the son of a bitch and give him what he asked for.” 

Kori sighed. “Violence isn’t always the answer, Jason.” 

“Uh, actually Kori,” Roy raised his hand. “That’s what we do for a living.” 

She couldn’t argue with him there. 

“But how is this affecting you, Jay? This guy killed you, beat you with a crowbar and then blew you up. This has to bring back some memories.” 

It did. He remembered every connection between cool crowbar and over sensitive skin. The thumps and the whacks of having his skull beaten in and his ribs broken. The laughter as a brand was burned into his flesh, his face, his chest, his thigh. Blood pooling in a sticky puddle beneath him. The prickling of the death in his lungs as the smoke get too intense and sorched his lungs, the flames licking over his skin until he was enveloped in pure pain, skin bubbling and darkening, his silent screams and the building finally blowing up with a crash like thunder and shrapnel impaling him like he was being drowned by a tidal wave until nothing but agony and darkness washed over him. He can still remember the heat of the fire as it blistered his skin, making it feel like he was suffocating, and he still has nightmares to this day.

He said as much to Roy and Kori, and he didn’t even realise he had until his eyes focused again and he saw the pain on their faces. Roy looked like he wanted to break something. Kori’s hands went slack and her shoulders slumped, but her eyes had a fire in them that reminded Jason too much like that warehouse and he had to look away. Jason dimly wondered if this was what happened to Tim. Not the dying part, or most of the physical aspects of Jason’s torture, but the mental. He hoped not.

Roy still looked like he wanted to break something, but he reached his arm across the table and put his hand softly on Jason’s arm, their earlier argument forgotten. “Jaybird,” he said quietly, tracing his thumb over his wrist “You know we are always here, yeah? If you’re having nightmares again- “ 

“I’m always having nightmares Roy.” Jason said bluntly “That’s what was happening when Tim called.” 

Biting his lip, Roy shot a quick glance at Kori before he brought Jason’s hand up in his princess-style so he could kiss the back of it. “You do know you need to tell us when that happens Jaybird.” He said quietly, kissing his fingers and trying to make Jason feel safe as Jason reached over and ran his fingers through Roy’s hair and tugged gently. “We are here to help, you know. Don’t shut us out.” 

Sighing, Jason let go of Roy’s hair and pulled away from him, leaning back in his chair and raising his arms above his head until his back cracked. “I know.” He said, rolling his shoulders and crossing his arms across his chest. “But this is something I’m going to have to do alone.” 

“No it’s not.” Kori spoke, spider-walking her fingers across the table and went up his arm then back down. “We are always here to help. And if it's talking that helps, needing help with patrol, taking you to the Manor, or anything, we’re going to do it.” 

Jason smiled, “Thanks guys.” 

“No prob-lemmo.” Roy put on a terrible southern accent and leant back in his hair so only two legs touched the floor. “What are we here for? Not just to look pretty. Although that probably is a bonus for you Jaybird.” 

Smirking, Jason stood up and walked over to Roy, grabbing his shirt and pushing the chair back further, making Roy gasp. “Well Roytoy,” he whispered in his ear and Roy's eyes went wide. “Your mouth may also be a reason.” Jason smashed his mouth to his with such force that Roy’s head went back. He pulled away and let go of Roy’s shirt, and his chair fell back all the way. Kori and Jason pissed themselves laughing as Roy sat up, rubbing the back of his head.


	4. Jason takes Tim's place

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, this took so long to upload! I completely forgot that I had this, and I didn't realised how long it wasn't updated! Hopefully, there should be more uploads more frequently haha. Thanks for the-casual-cheesecake for editing this, and I hope it was an alright read!

Dick seemed to have forgotten how impatient Jason was when he suggested Monday to come over. Jason felt like he had been watching the calendar for any sign of non-existent change, the clock to see if the hands had moved at all from the last time he’d looked. It never had.

Roy and Kori were doing all they could to take his mind off the slowly-approaching days, but there was only so much they could do save for blowing up the kitchen.

Again.

“C’mon Jaybird!” Roy groaned, hanging upside down over the back of the couch with his hair dangling in front of his face.  “Stop waiting! Monday will come eventually, a watched kettle never boils, remember?”

“Yeah, but the kettle has to be plugged in first, or at least turned on," Jason replied, eyes not straying from the calendar Kori insisted they hang up. Jason felt like he had been staring at the image of a cartoon raccoon for what felt like weeks.

“That makes no sense.” Roy grumbled, kicking his feet so he could slide the little bit further on the couch cushions. “Have you even slept? Is this delirium? Do I need to call Alfred?”

A piercing, metallic screech came from behind them and Kori stopped her attempt at using the old tap in the kitchen that Roy hadn’t gotten to fix yet, instead sighing and rubbing her hands on her pants. “When are you going to fix that Roy? I’m sick of having to bring water from the bath in a bucket to wash the dishes.”

Roy promised “when I get the right parts next time we go to the city,” the same time Jason admitted “the bath faucet doesn’t work anymore.”

Falling from his position on the back of the couch, Roy scrambled on the floor to sit up and snap his head at Jason. “What do you mean?”

“It doesn’t work.” Jason shrugged. “I tried it and it just didn’t work.”

“At least we still have the shower head.”

“Nope.” Kori mumbled, flipping in the air as she floated towards them. “That broke too.”

“Why are so many thing breaking at once?” he questioned, rubbing his head and sticking the strands in un-natural angels. “And why are they all water related? We can go into Gotham tonight and I’ll get them.”

“Oh no, no you don’t,” Jason shook his head, waggled his finger in Roy’s face. “I’m not going to Gotham for no reason. Not until Monday. Not until Dick gets here, because then I’ll have to go with him to stop him from killing someone and you know there is only so much of Gotham I can take.”

Kori snorted “Odd, coming from you.” Jason shot a glare her way.

“Please, Jaybird?” Roy pleaded, clasping his hands together and making puppy dog eyes.

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Listen, Roy, I love you, but the only reason I am going to go to Gotham is if something’s wrong with Tim, and considering he hasn’t called me or texted me in a few days, I doubt that’s gonna happen any time soon.”

Jason’s phone buzzed before Roy could complain, and the Manor’s home number appeared on the screen. Jason picked it up and was greeted with the frantic voice of Damian, not even letting him say hello. “You have to come over and talk some sense into Tim!”

“Wait what?” Jason scrambled to grasp what Damian was saying “What’s wrong with Tim?”

“He wants to go on patrol tonight! You have to stop him!”

Jason was up in an instant, clock and calendar forgotten. “I’ll be right there.” He promised Damian before hanging up and surveying his lovers. “Well Roy, I guess we’re going into Gotham tonight after all.”

Roy’s grin was damn near devilish.

* * *

 

Jason burst into the Manor with all the force of a wild rhino, Kori and Roy on his tail. Alfred, who was putting glasses away in the credenza almost dropped a wine glass “Master Jason, what’s-“ Jason silenced him with a lift of his hand and stormed past him towards the clock that leads into the cave. Roy giddily followed and Kori slowed to give the butler an empathetic look.

His heavy footsteps thumped around the cave walls as he pounded across the metal catwalk towards the cave centre. From this height, Jason could see Damian tied up, arms and legs behind his back and rope across his chest. Once the trio got closer, they could see that a dark welt was forming above Damien’s temple and cloth was tied around his mouth.

Catching sight of Tim sneaking off towards the vehicles, dressed and ready for patrol, Jason started sprinting towards him. “Tim!” he shouted, startling Tim and causing him to run. “What do you think you’re doing? Get back here!

Jason only caught him because Tim, obviously exhausted, tripped over his own cape in his hurry to escape, Jason only managed to grab him and set him up right before he fell on his face. “Let me go, Jason.” Tim grumbled, indignant.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Jason repeated, staring at Tim’s blood-shot, bruised sleepless eyes,, scabed face from where he’d clawed at his skin and the ulcers on his lip from his own teeth.

“I’m going on patrol.” Tim replied, as though it were obvious. “Like I’m supposed to.”

“No, you’re supposed to rest and recover. Do you really not remember what happened to you?”

“I do, and it’s fine. I’m fine. I’m going on patrol and there’s nothing you can do to stop me.”

Jason raised an eyebrow. “We’ll see about that.” He threatened, walking back towards the tiro behind him, where Kori had untied Damian and Roy was pulling an arrow out of his quiver. “What are you doing?”

“Looking for a sticky arrow.” Roy proclaimed, not looking up. “Thought maybe we could stick him to the walls, or the roof with one to stop him.”

Jason reached down and smacked the back of his head, making the bill of his had cover his eyes. “I have a better idea.” He looked at Kori, flashed her a smile. “Princess, would you mind grabbing Timmy from behind and not letting him go?” Kori grinned, ducked her head and bounced off the floor to backflip in the air and land quietly behind Tim, who was trying to tip-toe away. She grabbed him and lifted him off the ground, making him shout and kick his feet at the 5 meters of empty space below him. “Jason, tell your bodyguard to let me go. That’s no fair. I’ll just call Kon.”

Jason’s eyes lit up like the sky on the 4th of July. “That’s a great idea. Call him.”

“What?”

“Call Connor. And Bart. I’ll see if Cullen’s home. You four can hang out in the Row’s apartment while we take your shift on patrol.”

“Jason no, that’s stupid. Come back here!”

Jason, already pulling out his phone to call Harper, ignored Tim and walked back towards the stairs, leaning against it when she picked up, “Harpo! How’s it going? That’s good, I’m glad. Hey, odd question, is Cullen home? He is? He might be going out? Can you maybe keep him there? Probably. I don’t know he’s _your_ brother. I’m going to drop Tim off, with a few friends. Yeah, he wanted to go on patrol. I thought maybe a speedster, a super and Cullen would be able to keep him there. Alight thanks, see you later.” He hung up the phone, slipped it in his pocket and spun around to face the group again.

“Todd, what are you doing?” Damian asked as Roy helped lift him to his feet. “How is that going to prevent Drake from going on patrol?”

Jason grinned, a smug look plastered on his face. “Super-strength and super-speed and super-adorable. What else could we need? Perfect combo to stop Timbo here from going anywhere.”

Skipping up to Tim, still high in the air with Kori’s arms wrapped around him and pinning his arms to his side, Jason pulled Tim’s phone from a pocket in his utility belt. “I’m going to call them now, and then we’re taking you to Cullen’s. You didn’t think it would backfire so badly when you threatened us, did you?” Tim’s look of shock and anger was answer enough for Jason before he laughed and called Conner and put the call on speaker.

He answered on the second ring. “Hey Tim.” Was the first words spoken, a slight smile in his tone. Jason could hear Connor freeze. “Wait, not Tim. Jason? Yeah, Jason, what’s up? Everything ok with Tim?”

“Uh, yeah. How’d you know it was me?”

“Different breathing pattern and heartbeat. Is everything ok?”

Jason held back a chuckle. “Tim wants to go on patrol- “

“Absolutely not.”

“- so we’re taking him to Cullen’s house and the three of you are going to babysit him while we take his place. I’m going to call Bart now.”

“Don’t bother. I’m going to his place now. We’ll meet you there.” The beeping of the call ending ran in Jason’s ears for a little until he walked forward and put the phone back in Tim’s pocket.

Grinning up at him, Jason looked up through his eyelashes at his younger brother. “Looks like we’re going on a little field trip.”

Jason didn’t remember the last time Tim looked as angry. And Jason was loving it.

* * *

 

Cullen had left his window open, which was good, because Kori could just float Tim inside without having to go through the building. Jason, Roy and Damian took the stairs, nodding politely to the elderly lady who poked her head out to give them sweets from an old porcelain bowl. Only Roy took any. She didn’t comment on the weapons or the costumes, leaving them to realise that she had probably seen it all before, what with Harper coming up and down these same stairs, and was probably all too used to this.

They were able to hear Tim’s shouts from two floors below the Row’s room, and Jason made a point to mention this when they walked through the door. “Geeze Timmy, you’ll shout the whole building down if you keep making so much noise. The old lady a few floors down had to turn off her hearing aids.”

“Oh, Mrs Fletcher? She’s great. She’s had to put up with quite a lot of us lately, so I’m sure she’s used to it. She even helped patch Harper up after she electrocuted herself.” Cullen explained, standing up and walking over to the trio to shake their hands. “Why have you brought this loud mess into my apartment?”

Jason laughed, turning from Cullen to watch Bart run around Tim, arguing with him about his own health and safety. Connor was sitting on the couch, looking so, so tired. He looked up as Jason and Roy made their way past him to the window where Kori was. “Thanks for calling us. I promise we’ll look after Tim. He won’t be going anywhere on our watch.”

Nodding, Jason clapped Connor on the shoulder. “Thanks.” Looking at Tim, he narrowed his eyes. “This is how you learn your lesson. Stay here. You try and leave, I’ll hear about it. I told you I would help you get better, and I wasn’t joking. Rushing back into the middle of a fight straight away isn’t good for you.” He locked eyes with Damian before Tim could argue. “You coming?"

Shaking his head, Damian went to find a comfier spot against the wall. “I will make sure Drake will not be able to leave, first. My shift doesn’t start for another hour. I’ll follow you then.”

Jason shrugged. “Suit yourself.”

Kori grabbed the collars of both boys’ garments and floated a foot of the floor before flying out the window and floating away towards the centre of Gotham. Roy shot a two fingered salute their way before they disappeared into the night, the flaming trail left by Kori’s hair glowing brightly in the darkness.   

* * *

 

Patrol that night had been easy going, slow.

Not much went on, save from a few purse robberies and house-break-ins. Batwoman stopped them on their way through Crime Alley, checking up on Tim, asking if he needed anything. “Just let me know, and I’ll pop in with some soup or something.”

“Maybe swing by with a few cups of coffee and some sleeping pills.” Roy mumbled, re-organising his quiver.

Kori tilted her head. “Both at the same time? What would be the point of that?”

Rolling his eyes, Jason pulled his phone out of his pocket and checked it for the 100th time. 1 new message from Connor. “We better get going.” He announced, looking back up. “Nice seeing you Kate. Talk soon.”

Kate smiled before she turned around and grappled into the darkness. Jason looked back at his phone and opened the message. It came up as a video, and Jason pressed the play button.

The video portrayed a laughing Tim downing a shot of hot-sauce with Bart and immediately regretting it, spitting the red liquid all over Cullen as Tim rushed to the fridge to try and wash his mouth out with the milk gallon, Cullen running for the sink to wash it off his face and Bart flashing to the pantry for the bread before he re-appeared in his place on the floor, scoffing half the loaf in the blink of an eye. The camera was shaky, and Connor’s deep chuckles floated through the speakers from behind the phone as he laughed. The video abruptly cut off when it paned to Tim with white milk stains down the front of his shirt and down his chin, tears in his blood-shot eyes and red tinted cheeks, a wobbly smile on his face.

Jason rolled his eyes again and put his phone back in his pocket. “C’mon.” He yawned, turning and walking towards the end of the alley. “The night is young. And Roy, you still need to get those parts to fix the taps, don’t think I’ve forgotten. No more putting it off.”

Roy made an offended sound and pinched Jason’s arm, hard enough that Jason slapped his hand away and felt it when Roy stopped. “I’m not putting it off Jaybird,” Roy whined indignantly “I just haven’t had time to get the parts.”

Jason sighed. “Have you got enough money?”

Roy paused to pat down his pockets to produce a $50 note and about 75 cents worth of change. He looked up at Jason with his hair in his face and puppy dog eyes, and Jason dug in his pockets to hand him the $20 he had stashed away. Roy grabbed it and took off towards the shop he needed.

“You knew he wasn’t going to bring enough,” Kori observed, a slight smile on her lips. “You never bring money if you don’t need it. You brought it for him.”

“Of course I brought it for him,” Jason scoffed, “Do you really think Roy would remember to bring the right amount of money? He never has. I thought I should bring some just in case.”

“Look at you, Mr Foresight.”

“Yeah well, one of us has to be.”

A line of cars sped past with the passengers joyously yelling and screaming in celebration as they took a turn too fast and overturned a bin. A second later, a house alarm went off followed by very unhappy residents running out of their homes and onto the streets. 

Kori and Jason shared a glance before they both took off running after the cars, following the tire tracks and the new rubbish that now littered the streets of Gotham.

* * *

 

After dropping Tim off home and making sure he was safely tucked away under the watchful gaze of Alfred and walking his friends home as a thank you (even though both Bart and Connor can take care of themselves better than Jason, Kori and Roy could ever hope to) the trio blundered home and landed in a heap on the lounge room floor.

Jason heaved himself up from under his lovers after a moment to flop back on the couch a rubbed a crick out of his neck. “That was a good night, don’t you think?”

“I nearly got run over by a car,” Roy mumbled with his face pressed into the floor.

“But you didn’t.”

“I might as well have! I would have died!”

Kori sat up straight, causing Roy to moan as she pushed him further into the floor. “Did you hear that?” she whispered, eyes narrowed at the window. “Someone’s at the door.”

Jason slowly stood and approached it as scuffing came in through the slightly ajar window.

When a knock sounded against the wood, Jason rushed forward and swung it open, gun at the ready.

Dick’s unfazed grin greeted Jason and he stopped dead in his tracks. “Hey, baby-bird! Long-time no see! How’s it going?”  

He was still wearing his work pants, the muted grey-blue of the BCPD day shift, his white shirt unbuttoned to show the Nightwing symbol proudly displayed on his chest. The black blended in with the night so it seemed like his whole torso only contained this one blue geometric bird.

“Was there something you wanted to talk about?” He asked, reaching up to remove the tie draped around his neck like a snake, loose and undone to toss it inside. “Are you gonna let me come in or am I going to have to get dressed again. I mean, I bought a spare change of clothes but I am very cold.”

Roy and Kori were behind Jason, and the three of them exchanged weary glances. “It’s Monday,” Kori whispered as she realised.

Jason took a deep breath. “Yeah, Dickybird. Of course.” He said unsteadily, gulping. “Take a seat, go get changed- whatever. We uh, have something to talk about.”  

 _Shit_.


	5. The Outlaws get a visitor

After grabbing the bag that hung off the back of his motorbike, Dick strolled into the safe house with a look of happy relaxation, scuffing the bottom of his shoes on the welcome mat Roy bought at a garage sale before taking them off and sliding them with a sock-clad foot towards the corner. Giving Kori a kiss on the cheek and wrapping his arms around Roy in a rib-cracking hug, he made his way towards the middle of the room, picking up pillows that had fallen off the couch when Jason had flopped onto it and placing them back onto the worn surface, unbuttoning his shirt the rest of the way as he walked slowly into the spare bedroom to get changed.

Jason gnawed on his fingertips as he looked frantically around the house, Kori and Roy darting around to tidy it up some and make a space for serious conversation. “How am I going to do this?” He whispered, grabbing Kori by the arm as she flew past. “I can’t do this.”

Her eyes softened. “We’ll stay with you.” She said quietly, pressing a gentle kiss to Jason’s lips. “Wont we Roy?” She asked louder, already knowing the answer.

“Yeah yeah, of course Princess, just help me here.” Came Roy’s muffled reply as he stumbled through the hallway with arms stacked full of laundry and blankets, piled high in his arms and over his head. “I make things, not carry heavy loads.” He dropped them, knowing Kori’s hands would already be there to catch them and when she flew away with them held effortlessly in her arms, he turned to Jason. “Don’t worry Jaybird.” He reassured, pressing a harder, rougher kiss to Jason’s lips, all teeth and passion and love and Jason felt his toes curl in his shoes. “We won’t leave if you don’t want us to.”

In a swift blur of reds and oranges, Kori returned wearing a crop top and one of Roy’s tracksuits before floating to the kitchen to deal with the dirty dishes in the sink. “Go get changed.” She called to the boys standing toe-to-toe, Roy’s hands on Jason’s chin and Jason with his mouth slightly open, waiting for more. “Dick will be out soon. Get comfortable, you don’t want to break it to him in your suits.” As an afterthought, she mumbled “And maybe you can finish making out in the bedroom” but was drowned out by the running water as her loves padded off towards their bedroom.

Moments later, Jason came out wearing an orange hoodie that boldly claimed  _ ‘I have the best ass in all of Gotham’ _ that Kori brought had brought at a novelty store on her last pass through the town centre while Roy had a pink shirt on full of oil stains and holes, his short-shorts maybe too revealing for the sort of conversation about to happen but it was all he could find in the pile of clothes on the floor that was close to clean and an old trucker hat he forgot to throw out last week. Jason sat stiffly in the middle of the couch as Roy joined him on his left, kicking his feet up on the table. Kori turned off the water and joined them by lying over the back of the couch, legs dangling in the empty space on Jason’s right and hair hanging over the back of the couch as Dick walked in.

He wore one of the shirts that Jason brought him, too big when he was little, a hideous white Hawaiian shirt with roses and daffodils instead of palm trees and Hawaiian flowers, jeans with rips and holes and the frayed bottom edges, dirty and too long. Strolling to the chair opposite the couch, Dick dove on top of it, lying his legs across the armrest as he grinned at the Outlaws. “So Babybird, how have you been?” He asked, eyes unashamedly darting around the room and their attempt at cleaning. “I haven’t heard from you in ages.”

“Y-yeah, uh,” Jason stuttered, trying to find the words. He whipped his hands on his pants and Roy’s hand reached across and grabbed it, holding it tight. “We’ve been pretty busy. Lots of crime, lots of new things. It’s been uh, it’s been good.” Kori ran her fingers through Jason’s hair from behind, and he leaned into the touch. “How’s it been on your end?”

“It’s been hectic.” Dick moaned, straightening the blanket hanging over the back of the chair he was on. “The BCPD has been giving me more and more shifts and it’s gotten to the point where I’m on every day and have to wear my Nightwing suit under my work uniform so I can go on patrol straight after work.” He sighed, rubbing a hand over his face and left it there. “Spiral has also been pestering me but I’m trying to ignore them. Haly called me, asked me to perform for the next show in Gotham, but I’m not sure.” He took the hand off of his face, looked at Jason with a small smile. “But I’m sure you had something to talk about, and I doubt that something is my daily life.”

Jason bit his tongue, Kori tugging at his hair and Roy squeezing his hand, took a deep breath. “Yeah, yeah your right Dickybird.” He sighed, sure his tongue was bleeding. “Uh, have you heard from Tim recently? Or Bruce? Alfred?”

Removing his hand, Dick tilted his head, eyes narrowed, a young puppy distracted by a rattling sound in the distance. “No...?” It was said lowly, a drawn-out question and Jason knew instantly that Dick already suspected something was wrong.

Gulping, Jason slowly pulled his hand away from Roy’s and his hair away from Kori’s fingers as he leaned forward, clasping his hands together in his lap. “Right, didn’t think so.” He took a deep breath, forced himself to meet his brother’s eyes. “So, Bruce is being hard-headed because of the falling out you guys had and I still can’t believe he still hasn’t told you-” he paused seeing the worry written across Dick’s face like an open book, watched him slowly sit up straight in the chair, take his legs off the armrests and sit his feet heavily on the floor. “I need you to promise not to freak out Dickie, can you do that? Promise me.”

A gulp. “I promise,” it was quiet almost reluctant, but Dick was looking at Jason the same way he looked at Bruce when he expected the worst but hoped for the best. “I’ll try not to.”

Jason realised a breath he hadn’t even realised he was holding. “Ok, alright.” He ran his hands down his face and Kori rubbed his back, Roy leaning into his side. “So, let’s not hold this off any longer. Tim was captured by the Joker-” Dick straightened up, hands balled tightly on his thighs, fingers gripping the fabric of his pants. “He used uh, a lot of experimental drugs he stole from Scarecrow on him, modified Joker gas, lots of scars, lacerations, burn marks, electrocution- the whole sha-bang.” He stopped, watched Dick’s eyes wander the pattern of the wood grain on the floorboards and the pattern of the ugly fabric woven into the ridiculous carpet. “He was starved as well. When I got there, he wasn’t eating or sleeping and hadn’t left his room in a week-”

“When?” It was quiet, sharp and surprising as Dick’s words cut Jason off mid-sentence.

Jason exchanged looks with Roy and Kori. “When I got there he had been taken for 5 days.” He explained. Dick still hadn’t looked up. “So I suppose it was 6 days. Almost a week.”

Silence, and Jason felt Roy beside him hold his breath- a nervous tick Jason has tried to stop him from doing. “How long ago was this, Jason?”

Biting his tongue, Jason reached his hand up and yanked at his hair, stopping when his eyes met Dick’s, full of betrayal and worry and barely restrained fury. “Couple of weeks I think.” Jason admitted.

Leaning back, Dick’s eyes went unfocused and fell back down to his lap. “Why didn’t anyone tell me?” He whispered, sounding so broken and heartsick and desperate that Jason resisted the urge to get up and hug him. From behind him, Kori sat straight on the couch, crossing her legs and Roy sat off of Jason. He’d forgotten, that both Roy and Kori we’re close to Dick, at one point or another and knew it must be killing them seeing him like this as it was killing Jason.

“Bruce told me not to,” Jason said gently, not wanting to trouble or upset his brother any more than he already had but knew it needed to be said. Jason would hate if it were kept from him. “Said you didn’t need to be involved. Something about a falling out, I don’t know the details. Tim’s started calling me after his nightmares, and I had to take his place tonight on patrol. He tied Damian up when he tried to stop him, gave him a nasty bump on the head.” Dick’s hands were clenched again and he watched sadness war with fury and concern for dominance on his brothers face. “I thought it was time you were told.”

Eyes unfocused, Dick turned his head to the side, staring at a picture of Jason, Kori and Roy ginning arm in arm at the beached, sand caked skin and sea soaked hair. “It was over the mantle.” He said suddenly, so quietly Jason almost missed it. “He wanted me to be Batman when he couldn't anymore. Thought it was it was what I would want. Said that I was the only one who could take up the title because no one else was qualified. Told me to agree, then got mad when I told him I would only do it when he was out of commision and threatened to go back to the circus. I never meant it, but it was almost worth it to see the look in his face.” He turned back to Jason, eyes glassy, sadness winning the war with AK47s and atomic bombs. “I left and went on patrol. I didn’t think anything else of it, I was already over it and I though Bruce would too, in a day or two. He always is, you know? I thought he was getting better at the whole grudge thing.” Like shattering glass, the despair fell away from Dicks eyes, lighting them in the flames of wrath. “Of all the things to keep from me, he chooses  _ this _ ?”

Standing, fists clenched at his sides, Dick glared at the wall like he was ready to punch it, but Kori was up in an instant, wrapping her arms around Dicks shoulders and floating him not ungently but sternly back into his seat, ignoring the poor excuse of a fight he pretended to give.

“You promised you would not freak out, Richard.” Kori placed a gently kiss on his hair and it was one of those times Jason was so glad in the faith and security they had in their relationship. “You will sit and talk to us, and tomorrow, we go and rip your father a new one, like we we’re supposed to all that time ago, when we were just kids.” Dick leant further into Kori, all pretence of fight gone and sighed when Kori wrapped her arms tighter around him.

Roy rested his head on Jason’s shoulder, pulling his cap further over his eyes. “Thank god we’ve got her.” He mumbled to Jason as he watched from the cover of his cap, Kori pull a very distressed Dick Grayson into her lap and held his arms pinned to his sides whenever he tried to shift his arms up, covering his mouth with his hair. “I know Dick’s very comfortable with showing emotions and all, but I had a feeling that if it weren’t for Kori right now, we’d be replacing the plywood and plaster."

Jason hummed in agreement, reaching his hand under Roy’s cap and tangling his fingers in the messy stands. “He always did have a thing for red heads.” He joked, smiled at the tongue poking out of Roy’s mouth and felt light in his chest. “And you mean,  _ you’d  _ be replacing the plywood and plaster.”

“Of course I would,” Roy retorted, his mouth mostly hidden by his hat but Jason was sure he was grinning. “But I’d need you guys to hold all the heavy stuff, beefcake.”

Jason had never seen Dick so furious, so dejected, too used to the always grinning youth who wore his heart on his sleeve and skin as thick as armour, holding his own against a barrage of hurtful words and spiteful glares, coming out on top of it with nothing more than a bubbly laugh and a teeth-showing grin. Now, with angry breaths heaving his chest and growls ripping from his throat, eyes prickling with unshed tears, Jason pondered what happened to the young boy in all the ornate picture frames in the Manor, full of love and light and trust, nose upturned to the world and lips spread wide with a grin to end wars.

“Dick,” Jason whispered, leaning closer to his brother. When their eyes met, Jason couldn’t help but wonder if he looked like this when he let his own rage consume him, all red-faced and a pulled back sneer. “Dickie. Dickybird. Listen. We can go back to the Manor tomorrow, you can see Tim and Damian and the girls, say hello to Alfred and then we can find Bruce and beat his ass, alright? I’m not letting you go anywhere tonight, not like this.”

Kori smiled lovingly at Jason as she reached down to break the white-knuckled grip Dick had on the couch cushions. “Since when did you become so responsible?” She teased, fluttering her eye lashes and making Roy snort.

“Since I realised how much Dick needs to turn Bruce black-and-blue,” Jason grumbled in return, shoving Roy off of him when Roy latched onto his arm. Roy pulled his hat up, smirked at Jason, stuck out his tongue and laid on his lap. Jason rolled his eyes. “And how much I wanna watch it.”

A grin formed on Dick’s lips, the shadow of a smile ghosting across his face. “Nah Jay, you need to get your eyes checked.  _ My  _ colours are black and blue, remember?”

Sighing, Jason laced his fingers through Roy’s hair again, tugging. “Yeah, Dick.” Kori gave him a reassuring nod. “It’s settled. You can stay here tonight and in the morning, we’ll all go down to the Manor together. How’s that sound?”

Nodding, Dick unclenched his fists, before tightening them again, although softer than before. “Alright, yeah.” He agreed. Roy leapt off of Jason’s lap and flung himself at Dick, lying his legs over the sides of the armrests where Dick’s were before and tipping his head back so he was practially hanging upside down, arms wrapped around Dick’s neck and legs flat across him.

“Just like old times, ‘ey blue?” He cackled, gently pushing Kori off the couch who floated over to Jason.

“You alright with this Jason?” She asked, placing a kiss on his cheek. “He doesn’t have to stay.”

Jay snorted. “He’s my brother. Of course he can stay.” He eyed Dick, laughing lightly now as Roy pestered him. “At least we’ve got Roy to take his mind off of Tim for the night.”

There was a breathy laugh by his ear and Jason knew he made the right choice.


	6. The confrontation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bruce and Jason don't really get along so please don't yell at me for this

They woke as a pile of sweaty bodies and tangled limbs to the smell of breakfast wafting through the walls and they rose groggily together. Roy pushed Kori’s hair out of his face as he yawned and glanced at the clock. “Damn, Dick sure knows how to wake up early.”

Raising his arms above his head, Jason waited until the joints popped, shoving what was left of the blankets away from his legs. “He grew up in a travelling circus,” he pointed out as he stood. “And then he had to deal with Alfred’s sleep schedule.”

“I don’t care what time he wakes up, as long as he makes us breakfast.” Kori agreed as she floated out of the bed and met Jason by the door, kissing him on the top of his head as she passed.

The blankets and pillows were still on the couch from where Dick had slept the night before but Jason could hear soft Romani music coming from the kitchen. When he poked his head in, he could see his older brother humming along to the music, pancake batter covering his arms and bare chest, egg whites dripping off of the counter and flour covering the table top. He turned when he heard the others approach and gave them a smile that looked so uncharacteristic than the night before. “Oh, morning guys. You didn’t have any pancake batter so I made some myself. I remember Alfred’s recipe from when we were little.”

“Uh, that’s nice.” Jason was eyeing the counter in trepidation. “I hope you’re not expecting us to clean up the mess.”

“Oh no, of course not.” Dick laughed, turning around to flip another pancake onto an already full plate before gripping a metal bowl and pouting more mixture onto the pan. “I’ll clean it. I forgot how to crack eggs for some reason. And then I wrestled with the flour.”

“I don’t mean to interrupt…” Roy said, staring at Dick’s chest. “But why are you shirtless? I mean, I’m not complaining, but this wasn’t a view I was expecting to wake up to this morning. Otherwise, I would have woken up a lot earlier.”

Snorting at the joke, Dick kept an eye on the pancakes. “I knew I was going to make a mess no matter what I made so I didn’t want to get the only clothes I had dirty. Unless I wanted to cook in my Nightwing uniform- that would have been a view.”

“We have aprons you know.” Jason yawned, entering the kitchen and pulling out mugs. Kori reached over the counter and boiled the kettle. Roy grabbed the plates and the syrup, returning for butter and fruit when Kori glared at him.

“I wasn’t going to wake you for an apron, Jay.” Dick rolled his eyes as he turned off the stove and put the pancakes on the table. “Give me a second to clean up.”

After leaving to change, Dick quickly wiped down the bench and placed the dishes in warm water to soak. He sat at the table with a grin and speared a couple pancakes with his fork, drowning them in syrup and butter.

There was silence while they ate until Dick eyed the bruises on Roy's neck and he smirked slyly behind his steaming mug of coffee. "Did you... _enjoy_ your night?" He asked, very obviously holding back laughter.  
  
Before Roy could open his mouth to reply with either a too honest or snarky answer and Kori could wink flirtatiously at him, Jason sat straighter in his seat and interrupted. "You feeling any better Dick? You were pretty worked up last night."  
  
"Oh, well I'm still pretty annoyed and want to knock his head off his shoulders," Dick said evenly. Jason hid a laugh with a cough. "But I'm not at any danger of breaking anything at the moment so I think I've cooled down."  
  
"So, you're still up for sticking it to the man?" Roy asked.  
  
"Always," Dick replied. The fist bumped from across the table and Jason sighed.  
  
Kori took a sip of her tea and folded her legs underneath her on the chair. "Are you planning on going this morning? Or would you rather late until there is less traffic on the roads?"  
  
Shaking his head, Dick leaned back in his chair, the wood creaking under the strain of being on two legs. "Nah, he's more likely to be there in the morning anyway. Surprise him. He won't see it coming."  
  
Setting down his now empty mug, Jason pushed the chair back as he stood. "Well, let's get dressed and get going. There's no time like the present."

* * *

 

They arrived at the Manor with an angry roaring of motorbikes, the tire tracks leaving black marks in the snow.

Swinging his legs off the edge of his bike, Dick glared up at the home he grew up in as he placed his helmet on the handlebars.  His bag from the night before was hanging off the back, threatening to fall off but Dick paid it no mind as he stalked towards the front doors.

Jason caught a glimpse of a curtain being pulled back and let go from an upstairs window. _Fine_ , he thought, _let them watch. There’s no stopping Dick when he means business._

He was stolen from his thoughts by Roy’s cheering and the double doors to the Manor flying open with a _crash!_ Jason thought that he might have heard something smash. “Bruce!” Dick roared, storming into the house. Alfred came out of the sitting room in surprise, holding a silver serving dish. Jason pretended not to notice the carving knife that was in his other hand. “I think it’s time we had a chat.”

“M-master Richard! We weren’t expecting you.” Alfred stuttered, walking forwards. “Can I get you anything? Tea? Coffee? Anything to eat?” He asked hopefully.

“No thanks’ Alfred.” Dick declined, stomping to the stairs. “I’m only here for Bruce. Really, I’m only here for Tim, but if I see Bruce along the way then It’s just a win-win.”

Alfred paled even more. “Tim? What ever would you need Master Timothy for?”

“I told him, Alf,” Jason said as he followed Dick inside, Roy and Kori right behind him. “It was about time he knew. Bruce was being stubborn and I knew you wouldn’t tell him if Bruce wouldn’t let you. So, I saved you the trouble.”

Suddenly, the door to the library flew open. Bruce stood there, silhouetted by the bright light from behind him. He glared at Dick. “Richard,” he said. “It’s been a while.”

“Yeah, it has, I wonder why,” Dick growled. “Is there anything you would like to tell me?”

Bruce tilted his head as if he were confused and Jason resisted the urge to pull his gun and shoot him square in the chest. “I’m afraid I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He said evenly.

“Tim?” Dick snapped, making his way down the stairs. “Of all the things for you to keep from me Bruce, you keep this a secret?” His voice had dropped menacingly low and Jason felt Kori slip her hand in his. “You keep another brother’s pain from me? Again?”

If his words had any impact, Bruce didn’t show it, he only looked down at Dick like he was a misbehaving child. “You didn’t need to know.”

“Oh, like I didn’t need to know when Jason was murdered?” Dick snapped and took pride in the way Bruce flinched. “Yeah, that’s right. What’s different about this circumstance? Oh yeah, this time you were too busy being a whiney little baby to stoop down to my level.”

Jason heard Roy chuckle so he kicked him. “He does have a point.” Roy defended.

“Me? Stoop down to your level?” Bruce said. His voice was still menacingly level and Jason realised that he must have been extremely angry. “You wouldn’t even honour your own fathers dying wish-”

“You’re not dying, Bruce! There’s nothing wrong with you except for you being a selfish prick.” They were toeing now, Dick having walked the whole way down the stairs. Bruce was still taller than him even after all these years so the effect was somewhat lost, but the fire in Dick’s eyes made up for it. “You would withhold such information from me because I refused to take on the Batman mantle if you died? That was never my job, Bruce. I was always the placeholder until Damian was old enough to wear it. It was never supposed to be me.”

“You wouldn’t even consider it,” Bruce growled.

“No! Because I already give up Nightwing to be your god damn mime!” Dick’s fists were clenched, the knuckles white. “When you’re injured or sick or busy I always put on the suit and play Batman for however long you ask! Isn’t that enough?”

“That’s never been a permanent solution, Dick,” Bruce’s voice was starting to rise in volume and Jason took a tentative step forward.

Clearing his throat, Jason stood beside Dick and placed a hand on his shoulder. “No offence Bruce but you’ve never been very good at putting plans in place.”

Bruce’s glare didn’t move from Dick’s face. “Stay out of this Jason. This doesn’t involve you.”

“Doesn’t involve me?” Jason barked out a laugh. “This involved me once I got the call from Alfred. Not from you, I might add, but I don’t really know what else I expected.” He took a step between them and faced Bruce. “He’s your eldest son, Bruce. He’s always been there when you needed him. He took care of the Manor when you were away. He grew up the fastest so he could help you out on the field. He sacrificed his life for this. He embraced us as his own when we came into the Manor and didn’t judge us for who we were.” He leant forward, so close he could feel Bruce’s angry breath on his face. “And you keep this from him? From me, I understand. But from Dick? From our big brother? Over some petty little spat? You should be ashamed.”

If Jason had been paying attention, he would have seen the fist move faster then he did. He only knew he was about to be punched in the face when a bright golden-orange hand with a tattoo on the wrist flashed in his vision and gripped Bruce’s fist tightly. Kori floated daintily into the edges of Jason’s vision and he could feel the intense heat coming off of her skin and her hand. “If I were you, Mr Wayne, I would choose your words and your actions wisely when you insult those I love.” She turned her head. “Roy, dear, would you please go and let Tim know that his brothers are here to see him?”

“Sure think Princess,” Roy saluted as he ran up the stairs and knocked on Tim’s bedroom door, cooing niceties and sharing crude jokes through the wood.

Dragging his eyes from where his fist was held tight all the way up her arm to her face, Bruce glared at Kori with something like… disbelief. “Is that a threat, Kori?”

“Yes,” She said simply. “And it would do you well to remember it. I would hate to see you… harmed in any way. I do not let grudges go so easily, sir. Maybe you could relate.” Kori squeezed his hand once, smoke curling upwards from the hair that she’d burnt off before she realised him and stood behind Jason, throwing her arm over Dick’s shoulders protectively. At a glance back, Jason could see her eyes were glowing green in her fury. “Timothy will be down in a moment. I’m sure he’s been wanting to see his big brother. Such a shame you’ve kept him away, what with you hiding information.” She tapped Jason. “I remember that being something he gave you shit for, Jaybird. Funny that.”

Bruce’s lips curled in distaste. “You’re hiding behind your partners now Jason instead of dealing with your own problems like a man?”

Chuckling, Jason turned to the stairs as he heard Tim’s door open and Roy’s footsteps thump down the step. “Of course I am. They hang around for free, I might as well use them while I’ve got them.” He shrugged. “They come in handy when dealing with pricks like you.”

There was a strangled gasp from the top of the stairs and they all turned to see Tim, hands gripping the bannister and eyes wide. “Dick,” he breathed. Suddenly, Dick moved from his place beside Jason and both brothers collided on the stairs, forcing Roy to leap over the side to give them space. “I didn’t- why did- how-“

“Shhhh,” Dick hushed, holding his brother tight and ricking him slightly in his arms. “It’s alright, I’m here. I’m so sorry Timmy, I would have come sooner but I didn’t know.”

“You didn’t know?” Tim choked out, tilting his head up to look at Dick. “What do you mean?”

“Bruce never told me,” Dick said, voice betraying his remaining anger. “Jason told me last night.”

“He- he didn’t tell you?” Tim sobbed, voice shaking as he buried his face into Dick’s chest. Dick glared furiously at his father over his shoulder. Tim clutched his shirt tighter. “He- he told me you knew. I thought- I thought-“

Dick gently ran a hand through Tim’s hair. “Calm down Timmy, I’m here now. What did you think?”

“I thought you were mad at me,” Tim admitted, voice barely above a whisper. “I thought you didn’t care.”

“Oh Tim, you’re the smart one, remember?” Dick placed a kiss to the top of Tim's head. “I’m not mad. Even if I was, I would never let that get in the way of… something like this. I promise. You are much more important to me than any grudge we could have.” They stood there in silence for a moment until Tim’s sobs turned into hiccups. “Come on Timbo, let’s go talk in your room. I promise I won’t be leaving for a long while.” With his arm slung over Tim’s shoulders, Dick led his brother back into his room, shoot Jason a grateful look and Bruce one of rage.

The door closed behind them with a _click_.

Jason turned to Alfred who was looking stunned in the corner. “Alfie, would you mind fetching Damian for me? I can’t be bothered finding him, who knows if he’s even in here.”

“O-of course, Master Jason.” He nodded respectfully to Roy and Kori before hurrying off.

Fixing his gaze on Bruce, Jason looked him up and down. His turtleneck was covered in lint and his hair was a mess, shoes not glossed to a pristine shine. “You’re a mess,” Jason said gleefully, “and an asshole but that’s never changed.”

“What are you still doing here, Jason?” Bruce asked through grit teeth.

“Well, really I just need to talk to the kid, but he’s not here right now so I’m going to talk to you instead.” Roy had pulled chairs out from the fake sitting table and Jason now sat on one, crossing his arms behind his head. “You see what you did? To Tim? He thought Dick was mad at him. Because you kept a secret.”

“Keeping secrets are very important aspects of our lifestyle, Jason,” Bruce said as though it was justified.

Sighing, Jason shook his head. “Not to family, Bruce. You don’t keep these kinds of secrets from family. You’re lucky Tim has all his friends and family around to help because God knows you’d be no help.”

“Because you’re suddenly an expert in accepting help through trauma.”

Jason shrugged. “How would you know? You weren’t there when I went through _my_ trauma. I got through it all alone, no help from _daddy_ , no matter how much I begged for him. But that’s alright. Keep making it all about you, Bruce. That’s all you seem to be good at, anyway.”

There was a _slam!_ and Jason turned to see Damian walking into the foyer. “This better be important, Todd.” He grumbled. “I was training in the garden.”

“Sorry kid, this won’t take long, I promise.” Jason bent down and placed both hands on Damian’s shoulders, surprised when neither man jerked away. “But I’m not going to be here all the time.”

“Obviously.” Damian snorted.

“No, shut up and listen. Dick’s upstairs with Tim right now and he’s going to be staying here for a while.” Jason told him, meeting his eyes. Damian already seemed to know where the conversation was headed. “But I can’t be here all the time. I need you to look after Tim for me. Fetch him warm drinks. Help him train, when he’s up to it. Talk to him about bullshit.”

Damian nodded. “I can do that.”

“I need you to call me whenever anything happens,” Jason said. “I know your dad won't but I want you to promise me, Damian, that you will keep me updated. Can you promise me?”

“I promise,” Damian said and Jason had never seen the kid so serious. “I won’t let you down. I’ll keep you updated, on Drake and Grayson both.”

Relived, Jason stood and ruffled Damian's hair, smiling at his growling. “Good. You can be my eyes and ears.” He turned to Bruce. “ _You_ , be good. I’m not in the mood for dealing with any of your crap.” He made his way towards the doors. “Let’s go. We’ve got work to do.”

Kori had already caught up with him out the doors while Roy shouted a goodbye to Alfred and they tracked off through the snow. “Was that a good idea?” she asked, slipping her arm in his. “Giving Damian such a task? Pushing Bruce so far? Leaving Dick alone with him?”

Shrugging, Jason found that he didn’t really care either way. “I’m sure it’ll all work out.”

“Hey, Jaybird, question,” Roy said as he jogged up to them. “You said we had some stuff to do. When I checked last, we’ve nothing on but patrol for the next while until we have that drug bust to do. What were you on about?”

“Oh, I forgot to tell you,” Jason slung one leg over his bike as he spoke. “Mostly because I decided 30 seconds ago. We’re going clown hunting this week. Bring your favourite toys, I hear it’s quite a sport this time of year in Gotham City and I am all for the competition.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come on, we all know Bruce hit's his kids when he is frustrated with them. We've all seen the 'Court of Owls' pannels.


End file.
